Archive for November, 2008

Port Barton is located midway between Puerto Princesa and El Nido on Palawan’s Northwest coast. This lovely little coastal beach town’s activities are mostly geared towards island hopping, swimming, diving and snorkeling around Pagdanan Bay while the mainland offers some walking or hiking trips to discover several of the nearby waterfalls. The atmosphere is very laidback in Port Barton so don’t expect any nightlife outside of your resorts bar. We did heard of a small local bar that turns into a disco and stays opened late once a week on Saturdays when there are enough people. Attempting to go there at around 11PM we found it closed.

Map of the Puerto Princesa to Port Barton route

Pictures of the Port Barton

Resorts of Port Barton

The bulk of the resorts of Port Barton are located along the town’s long white sand beach. Prices go cheap in this part of Palawan where beach front accommodations prices vary from 400 to 700 Pesos($8-12). Another positive note good to mention is that you definitely won’t feel like you’ve ended up in a tourist ghetto here as we didn’t encounter as much as 10 other tourists the time we were there. Alternatively there is also the option to stay at the Coconut Island Garden Resort which is located in 45 minutes by boat in the Bay itself for a more secluded island getaway experience (from 600 to 1200 pesos).

Pictures of the Summer Homes Resort

Island Hopping in Port Barton

Located in Pagdanan Bay, Port Barton it is the ideal place for those who love to do Island hopping. All the boats for hire are available from the Fair Trade Mariners Association of Port Barton where prices vary depending of the number of passengers, length of the trip or chosen tour destinations. Among the many islands of the bay at least 15 contain fine white sand beaches. Most are virgin and inhabited and since Port Barton is a low key tourist destination so you’ll most likely have those islands all to yourself. The water is often of a splendid turquoise color and always crystal clear so you will be able to see through several meters below. Bring snorkel or scuba gear as the marine life is abundant and the corals seem to be untouched.

Pictures Island Hopping in Pagdanan Bay

Getting to Port Barton from Puerto Princesa and back:

To travel the 150 KM that separate Port Barton from Puerto Princesa you can:

Take the local Jeepney that Leaves Puerto Princessa’s new market bus station everyday at around 10 AM for Port Barton and costs 250 pesos (±$5) per person.

If you arrive later in the day and don’t want to stay overnight in Puerto Princesa another option is to take a one of the many Jeepneys that are leave for Sabang from 7 AM to 3 PM (150 pesos) at the new Public Bus Terminal. You can then get on one of the boats to do the trip from from Sabang to Port Barton (800 pesos). Boats only leave in the morning so this means you will have to spend the night in one of the beach resorts in Sabang.

Take one of the many vans for hire that do the trip up to Roxas once they get full (200-300 pesos) from where you can take afternoon Jeepney that goes to Port Barton (250 pesos). Depending how late in the day you arrive you could get stuck in Roxas. If so I would recommend to stay in the Coco Loco Island Resort overnight.

Private shuttles taxis can also be arranged for around 3-4,000($90) and can accommodate up to 6 persons with their luggage.